Liquid nutritional compositions typically include balanced amounts of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats), as well as micronutrients and flavorings. For example, nutrition shakes, i.e., non-carbonated liquid nutritional compositions which are intended for oral consumption and therefore have the consistency, flavor, and overall desirable sensory characteristics of common milk shakes, are widely-available consumer products. Examples include the Ensure®, Glucerna®, Myoplex®, and PediaSure® lines of nutrition shakes available from Abbott Nutrition of Columbus, Ohio, the Muscle Milk® line of nutrition shakes available from CytoSport, Inc. of Benicia, Calif., and the Resource® line of health shakes available from Nestle, S.A. of Vevey, Switzerland. Generally, these nutrition shakes are made up in the form of oil-in-water emulsions having the consistency of common milk shakes.
While attempts have been made in the past to introduce certain functional ingredients (e.g., ingredients that may promote physical performance over and above that provided by high quality macronutrient delivery) into liquid nutritional compositions and achieve the wide consumer acceptance of conventional nutritional compositions, this has yet to be accomplished as the resulting formulations often do not meet consumer expectations for taste, texture, etc. Accordingly, there is an unmet need for nutritional compositions that provide desirable functional ingredients while also delivering the experience that consumers have come to expect.